March 10, 2005
Los Angeles - The John R. Wooden Award Committee today announced the 17 women's college basketball players named to the official voting ballot for the 2005 Women's Wooden Award presented by Applied Materials and Baylor's Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young are included on the list. The Women's Wooden Award, presented annually to the nation's top female collegiate basketball player, will announce its 2005 recipient on Saturday, April 9 during a national CBS telecast airing live at 1 p.m. EST from The Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Seven NCAA conferences are represented on the ballot, including the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Conference USA, Pac-10, and the SEC. The best represented conferences include the Big 10 and Big 12 with four candidates each, and the SEC, which has three players nominated. Two teams have multiple players nominated, including LSU (Seimone Augustus and Temeka Johnson) and Baylor (Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young). Cappie Pondexter of Rutgers is the only candidate on the national ballot who was not a Wooden Award Midseason nominee. In total, nine seniors, five juniors, two sophomores and one freshman are represented on the ballot.
"We never imagined the selection process would be so difficult this year, which is testimony to the wealth of talent that exists in women's college basketball," said Richard "Duke" Llewellyn, founder and chairman of the Wooden Award. "The Wooden Award National Advisory Board feels that these 17 players are the most deserving for consideration, and we applaud each of them for their outstanding effort both on and off the court."
In order to be considered for the national ballot, all players must have been accredited by their university as meeting the Wooden Award criteria which includes making normal progress towards graduation and maintaining a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. It should be noted that all players considered for the national ballot, including those on the midseason list, were deemed eligible as meeting the Wooden Award academic requirements.
A panel of over 200 voters comprised of sports media members and women's college basketball experts from around the nation will have until 3 p.m. EST on Monday, March 28 to cast their votes for both the five-member All-American Team and Wooden Award recipient as the most outstanding female collegiate basketball player in the United States. The Wooden Award opts for the March 28 deadline because it allows voters to evaluate players up until the Elite Eight has been determined.
The 2005 award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams, and Legends of Coaching award recipient Jim Calhoun of the University of Connecticut, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 9, 2005, and will be broadcast live on a national CBS telecast. The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony and will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund for their university's general scholarship fund.
The Wooden Award Scholarship Fund was established in 2002 by Applied Materials and corporate partners through the California Community Foundation (CCF) to honor Coach Wooden's dedication as an educator and mentor. The Scholarship Fund distributed $15,000 last year to each university represented by a men's and women's Wooden Award All-American Team finalist (for a total of $150,000). Additional donations to Applied Materials' John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund can be made by contacting the scholarship fund through the CCF (www.calfund.org).
About the Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his/her university that he/she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Michael Jordan ('84), Larry Bird ('79), Tim Duncan ('97), and last year's inaugural women's recipient, Alana Beard ('04).
Women's Wooden Award Ballot (Players listed alphabetically)
A national poll was conducted by the John R. Wooden Women's Award National Advisory Board to determine the ballot for the 2004-2005 Wooden Award All-American Team. The top 17 candidates have been selected based on this year's individual performance and team records.
Seimone Augustus, Jr., G, LSU
Jacqueline Batteast, Sr., F, Notre Dame
Steffanie Blackmon, Sr., F, Baylor
Lindsay Bowen, Jr., G, Michigan State
Monique Currie, Jr., G/F, Duke
Jessica Davenport, So., C, Ohio State
Sandora Irvin, Sr., F, TCU
Tiffany Jackson, So., F, Texas
Temeka Johnson, Sr., G, LSU
Janel McCarville, Sr., C, Minnesota
Cappie Pondexter,Sr., G, Rutgers
Khara Smith, Jr., F, DePaul
Kendra Wecker, Sr., F, Kansas State
Tan White, Sr., G, Mississippi State
Candice Wiggins, Fr., G, Stanford
Tanisha Wright, Sr., G, Penn State
Sophia Young, Jr., F, Baylor
